CLEAN WATER

1 BILLION OF THE TOTAL GLOBAL POPULATION HAS NO ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER


The importance of water cannot be emphasized further. The menace that has been water pollution affects and kills more human beings than any form of violence globally. This articulates the importance that water has on our lives. Sources of water that are drinkable are only shrinking, diminishing the already 1% that is available. It is It is essential that drastic measures are taken to ensure that by 2050 when there shall be an increase of 30% of people needing freshwater, we shall have at least, catered for half that increase in demand. Studies were done on the aspect safe drinking water and the trends are worrying. For instance, most Americans have access to drinking water, but these tap sources have been determined to contain harmful pollutants such as Lead, Copper among others. This is exactly where water becomes polluted, at the point where contaminants make it unsafe for other uses, let alone human consumption. As we already know, what has always been the ‘universal solvent’ and therefore it is more susceptible to contaminants than any other liquid for that matter.

Polluted water leads to diseases that affect 1 Billion people globally every year. The poor and the vulnerable are more at risk as they are pre-disposed to various risks because of inadequate housing and the fact that they are almost always not able to access clean sanitation facilities. The lack of access to clean sanitation facilities is one of the major causes of waterborne related diseases in the Less Developed Countries, in which a large population of the urban poor live in slums. It is important to understand that groundwater, surface water, and ocean water, among others, are susceptible to pollution. Our environment is an ecosystem of interlinked living organisms that relate directly or indirectly to each other. Therefore, a pollution problem in a part of the chain risks disruption of the ecosystem.
It is vital that we join hands to make a difference. What can I do? One may ask. 

There are a lot of simple, doable and achievable goals that can be embraced and shall go a long way towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal 6 and the general aspect of Sustainability. For instance, in Kenya, such steps incorporate
§   We should reduce our level of plastic use. Kenya took a drastic but candid step by the ban on plastic bags in the year 2017.

§  We should also ensure that we properly dispose of waste materials and especially so, for the non-bio-degradable ones that pose a major threat to the environment. Individuals with home gardens should embrace proper landscaping to reduce runoff and, they should avoid the use of the chemicals such as pesticides.

We can ultimately make the difference by Making Our Voices Heard. Let us embrace a Clean Water Policy that shall ensure inter-generational equity regarding water quality.

By, Innocent Deckoks.

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